This was my first time playing this game. I came in expecting a lightsaber-simulator/Jedi-power fantasy. Instead, I spent the first third of the game playing a mediocre fps. Then, after the first 5 levels or so, I eventually got the light saber - and spend the next 4 or 5 levels fighting hordes of snipers, which render it completely useless and the levels themselves a slog. Levels in general can become pretty drawn out not because of their complexity, but because the game is often terrible at communicating what you're actually supposed to do. THEN, after little more than half-way into the campaign, it finally became the game I intended to play. You spend the rest of it obliterating imperial troops with you saber and force powers and duelling Dark Jedi in between. Problem is, even then, the game never rises above simply 'good'. Fighting against the mooks is easy and fun (a power fantasy), but while the saber-combat allows for a lot of depth in theory, duelling against the AI is still mostly trial and error, although it does get significantly easier with practice. Plot and characters are also more on the thin side and in no way compare to the KOTOR series, although this features some characters of the original trilogy. All in all, it is still a good game for the price point, but without nostalgia, I can only say that the game could have been a lot better. Here's hoping for the sequel.
I just finished this game and want to chime in with the praise of the other reviewers. The story of Thronebreaker is about you, Queen Meve, trying to fend off an invasion with your little army. A simple premise, but they tell a very engaging story with it, peppered with all kinds of twists and betrayals. As someone who never read the books and only played Witcher 1 years ago, I also enjoyed how they let one dive in into the world and history of the setting. The progression through the story is essentially linear, with a lot of content to explore on the side-ways. The side-quests are numerous, some involving only a simple decision as to what to do in a given situation and how much resources to expand for it, while most involve armed conflict. They then usually conclude by asking you to make moral decision on what happens to those defeated/saved during battle. This is one of the strong points of the game, as these decisions are not only tough because going with your conscience may not only go against your troops whims, but often it is entirely unclear, what the 'right' choice even is. I was actively pondering at many of them. The 'grey morality' thing is touted a lot with this franchise and Thronebreaker goes wild with it and does it a lot better than I remember Witcher 1 doing it. Then there's the card game. GWENT is not the best card game I ever played, but it does a well enough job at providing depth while having simple rules. Midway-through I thought, I found an optimal deck, but then the game threw a series of fights at me, which had me reconsider and further optimize the composition of my deck. My one critique would be, that the selection of cards at your disposal is fairly limited and only a fraction of what is encountered in the game, due to the cards representing factions and characters you encounter and ally with over the course of the story. Tl;dr If you like Card Games and a good story, play this.
